


Love at first kiss

by AngelofDarkness1605



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 03:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6035938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelofDarkness1605/pseuds/AngelofDarkness1605
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle isn't happy at all that Ruby has talked her into trying a very particular type of speed dating, but then she meets a shy, unassuming man who isn't eager to participate either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love at first kiss

"I don't want to do this anymore," Belle announces, still wiping her mouth in disgust.

"Come _on_ ," Ruby says, throwing up her hands in exasperation. "We only just got here!"

"Didn't you hear anything when I told you what that sleaze just did to me?!" the librarian cries out, shivering violently when she thinks back of the man who called himself Keith, who forced his tongue into her mouth and groped her breasts as she tried to push him off her and get away from him.

"It sucks that that happened, but you can't just give up! Look at it from the bright side: you had bad luck with your first guy, so it can only get better from here on!

"I had no idea it would be like _this_ ," Belle says, wishing that she would have taken toothpaste and a toothbrush with her.

"Belle, you know I love you, but what part of the 'kiss first, date later' concept don't you understand?!"

"I did think it was a safe assumption that mutual consent would be a condition at all times!"

"It goes beyond saying that your first guy crossed lines, but I didn't drive all this way for you only to give up after your first try!"

"You yourself wanted to go here as well," Belle replies stubbornly, changing the topic as tears threaten to well in her eyes.

"Yeah, because I want to meet new guys, not because I'm afraid that I might run into someone I actually know!"

"At least you were lucky with your first _and_ your second date."

"I was," Ruby grins wolfishly, "and you will be lucky too, if only you _try._ Really, it's high time you _get_ lucky. You're never getting over your ex at this rate!"

"I'm perfectly over him, thank you very much, and I don't need another man for that in the first place."

"What about Archie?" her friend says, ignoring her response. "He's a perfect gentleman! You'll like him."

"You liked him first," Belle replies, part of her wishing that she would have met the humble psychiatrist instead of Ruby. "You _kissed_ him first."

"That's no reason for you not to kiss him as well," her friend says, winking at her. "He might like you too... he might like _both_ of us."

"You know I'm not into that," the librarian says tensely, reminded yet more that it was a bad idea to come here to begin with. "Just... let's both enjoy ourselves. You like stuff like this, I don't. I wanted to try it myself before forming my opinion, but I can safely say now that I really don't like it. You go have fun here, I'll go check out that lovely book shop I spotted around the corner."

"I obviously can't stop you doing that, and I don't want to," Ruby sighs. "I just want you to be happy, to experience love and lust rather than only reading about it. The next guy you meet here tonight might be the love of your life or a great one night stand, who knows?"

"The next guy, or the one after that, or the one after _that,_ or after that, or after _that_."

"Be pessimistic, if you must. I'm just trying to tell you that there _are_ a decent guys around here, but you won't get to know them if you don't give this a chance. Get some experience at least. Just... try one more. If not for yourself, than for me."

"All right, I'll go _see_ one more," Belle sighs, tired of the argument – of this entire night, really. She purposefully doesn't not explicitly say that she has no intention whatsoever of actually kissing her next date.

"That's the spirit... or at least, some of it," her friend smiles, playfully bumping her shoulder against hers. "Now, I believe the next round is about to start."

~

Belle makes her way towards her designated room a few minutes later, right when a buzzer announces the start of the next round. She clutches a piece of paper with the number of the next person who she will meet - and _not_ kiss - tightly in her hand, wondering if faith is mocking her by assigning someone with the number thirteen to her.

Belle tentatively makes her way into the correct room. She heaves a sigh of relief when it appears to be empty, giving her a chance to compose herself and mentally prepare before the next potential disaster walks in.

A sudden movement at the edge of the room informs her however that she isn't alone after all. Turning her head, there appears to be a man sitting on the ground near the door, leaning back against the wall. He's got unfashionably long hair and his worn jeans and shirt, both in faded colors, are too large on his slight frame.

As she watches him, he moves to stand up, having obvious difficulty doing so. She understands the reason why when she spots the cane lying next to him on the floor.

"Please don't get up on my account," she says, moving towards him. "I am not here for..."

"Are you here for round three?" he asks simultaneously, his voice soft and seemingly anxious.

"I... I am, yes," she replies when he stills, momentarily having forgotten about the reason she's here. "I mean, I am, technically, but I have no intention of actually kissing you... or anyone, for that matter, for... well, for the coming year or so – or the coming ten years."

"Thank goodness," he mutters, slumping back against the wall with a relief that could have been her own.

"Did your first... encounters go badly?" she asks in understanding.

"It was a _nightmare_ ," he says, lowering his head so his graying, rather long hair falls around his face like a curtain.

"Mine was too," she says quietly, feeling an immediate camaraderie with this unknown man. "Mind if I join you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I shouldn't have asked, I know you probably want to be alone. It's just that it's nicely quiet here and I figured I'd come sit with you for a while and enjoy the peace before I'm going to have to face my friend again and..."

"It's all right," he says, interrupting her nervous ramble. "I don't mind you sitting here, although I can't see why you would want to sit with _me_."

"Why not?" Belle asks in confusion when she carefully sits down on the floor as well, maintaining a comfortable distance between the stranger and herself. "My friend keeps insisting that there are actually decent guys to be found here. Only now that I met you I'm beginning to agree with her."

"I dread to think what kind of men you met here before to make you say that," he says quietly, lifting his head up just far enough to meet her gaze.

She stares when she takes a somewhat proper look at him for the first time, peeking at him through his hair. His skin is tanned and features pronounced lines around his eyes and mouth. His cheeks are covered with a thin layer of stubble; his eyes are a gorgeous shade of brown and are the gentlest she has ever seen.

"I can say the same about the women you must have encountered tonight."

"It was awful," he sits, bowing his head again and trembling at the memory. "I was already in here when she came in. She headed right towards me and grabbed me without saying a word. I _know_ we're supposed to kiss here, but... she wouldn't _stop_ and she... she _touched_ me. She only let go of me when I managed to push her away."

"It was almost exactly the same for me, only I had to knee him in the balls to make him stop."

"I'm very sorry that happened."

"I'm very sorry that happened to you, too," she says. It it hadn't been for the reason that caused it, she would have been thrilled to have found someone who she can relate to so much. "But at least we're comfortable here for the time being. We can look out for each other."

"I like that," he replies, smiling a little at her from behind his hair.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, of course not, but can I ask whether you had another date this evening?"

"This is my second. The one before this was... _her_. I missed the first round because... because..."

Belle suppresses the urge to outright ask him why he didn't participate in the first round, not wanting to make him yet more uncomfortable by pressuring him to share things with her.

"Because I was afraid," he admits eventually, lowering his gaze again.

"That's why I missed the second round," she replies quietly. "Although I was angry, too. This is my last round. I almost left, but my friend persuaded me to meet one more man. I'm glad that I did."

"So am I," he says, his voice just as soft as he gives her a beautiful, tentative smile.

"Is this the same room where she..." Belle asks, realization suddenly dawning.

"It is."

"Do you want to go somewhere else? Maybe to another empty room, if we can find one?"

"No, it's fine for me to stay here. It's a lot better since you got here."

"I feel a lot better as well now that I've met you," she tells him, hoping that her smile will be as uplifting to him as his is to her.

She may not want to kiss him – although that notion isn't nearly as repulsive as before – but there is something else that she would like to do when she notices that his hand is resting on the carpet between them.

"Is this all right?" she asks when she reaches for his hand with her own, only brushing her palm over the back of his when he nods in approval.

Belle smiles again when he shifts his hand, nodding herself when he entwines their fingers with great carefulness. His palm is just as damp and hot as her own and she couldn't be happier to be holding it and squeezing it encouragingly.

She sighs deeply, but it's an expression of contentment as she relaxes somewhat for the first moment since she set foot in the building - and especially since Keith grabbed her.

"None of this was remotely like what I was expecting when I let my friend talk me into this."

"Indeed," he replies. "Did you have... hopes for tonight?"

"Not really. More than anything, I was curious. Both about the concept itself and about what it would be like to... well, to kiss a man you've never met, just like that. I didn't know whether I would like it or not, whether it would depend on the man, or his kiss alone, and I wanted to find out. I figured it would be a bit like an adventure. Now I know that it _is_ an adventure, but not a nice one. But at least talking to you makes me not entirely regret that I came here."

"I'm here because my son insisted," he offers with a sudden pride in his voice a while after she falls silent. "He heard about this... event on the radio and asked me to participate several times before I gave in. He knows that I'm awful at talking to women... to people in general, really. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'm even worse at anything beyond talking."

He sighs a little, a sad, resigned sound, then shifts awkwardly.

"Neal's mother and I are divorced," he hastily adds. "For more than ten years now. There hasn't been anyone else since then. I don't mind much, but my boy... he wants a mother. So here I am, despite knowing better."

He chuckles humorlessly, his shoulders sagging further.

"And I just broke the main advice he gave me for tonight: don't talk to the women I meet here about my twelve year old son. It's off-putting, according to him."

"My friend once said something similar. I don't know if there's any truth in it, but your son is clearly a huge part of your life and it seems wrong to me to have to ignore that."

"I feel the same way," he says.

This time, he is the one to squeeze her hand.

"I bet he's a wonderful boy."

"He definitely is," he says, the pride returning to his tone.

"Just as amazing as his father," Belle adds quietly.

"I must disagree with that. I'm... I'm a difficult man to love."

"I think I must disagree with _that_. I won't pretend to know you at all, but... Being with you like this makes me truly believe that you're a wonderful man."

For just a moment, Belle allows herself to wonder what it might have been like if _this_ was the man she would have met at the beginning of the evening. What his kiss might have been like, probably chaste and gentle, his hands lightly touching her arms or perhaps her waist or her face and...

He's blushing at her purposeful compliment, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the same time. It makes her only more convinced that he is a lot more lovable than he appears to think himself, but she decides to change the topic for his sake.

"I broke off my engagement last year. He and I weren't very... compatible, but our fathers are best friends and have basically been preparing our wedding since we were born. My father still hasn't forgiven me, and neither has my ex. But it's a relief to be separated from him regardless."

"I'm glad that you had the courage to do that."

He doesn't add anything, but there's something about his tone and the sudden returning tension to his body which inform her that the divorce of him and his ex wife, and the events leading up to it, were painfully difficult.

"I told myself that bravery would follow if only I did the brave thing. I still don't know if that's true, but at least I got away from being married to a guy who told me to put my books away, keep quiet and look pretty for him."

She scrutinizes him from the corners of her eyes, not wanting to study him by looking directly at him in fear of increasing his discomfort. The more she looks at him, the more curious about him she becomes, and the more she wants to continue looking.

Indeed, Belle is starting to regret that she came her with the intention not to kiss anyone else and that he, unlike her, probably hasn't changed his mind. Before she can think of a way how she can ask him whether he might like to kiss her after all, he shifts a little, turning slightly more towards her while he runs a nervous hand through his hair.

Because of those two movements, she can take a good look at his face for the first time since she met him. Only then she spots the red smudges that her predecessor must have left there when she forced herself on him.

"What is it?!" he asks in alarm, noticing her attention.

"Lipstick," she says, gesturing at his face.

He looks almost nauseous as he furiously wipes his mouth and the skin around it, trying to get rid of it. He can get most of it away, but not everything.

"Let me help?" she asks, reaching for tissues in her bag.

He nods, closing his eyes tightly when she reaches for him. Belle wipes the other woman's lipstick off him as carefully as she can, bracing her unoccupied on his shoulder to keep him steady. Wanting to soothe him as much as she can, she soon finds herself squeezing him encouragingly while she works.

"It's all gone," she informs him when she's done. " _She_ is all gone."

She's reluctant to take her hands away from him however, finding unexpected joy in touching him. Although his unassuming and timid nature is a perfect contrast to the man who forced himself on her earlier tonight, there's something about him that appeals to her in a way that goes far beyond that.

"My name is Belle, by the way," she says, extending her hand to him when she realizes that they haven't even formally introduced themselves yet – and that she'd very much like to get to know him better.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Belle," he says as he takes her hand, shaking it lightly as he tentatively smiles at her. "My name is... well, people call me Rumple."

He lowers his eyes when he pronounces his name, his cheeks coloring. There's definitely a story there, she can tell, and no matter how curious she immediately is about it, she senses that this moment of particular self-consciousness from his side isn't the right moment to ask for it.

"The pleasure is likewise, Rumple," she says, returning his smile in a far less hesitant manner.

"I'm very glad that I met you," he adds, looking at her through his lashes.

"So am I," she says, warmth spreading throughout her in response to his words.

No matter how unlikely it seemed only a very short while ago, Ruby was right after all when she insisted that tonight would be valuable. Really, just sitting here with this man called Rumple is more than worth the long drive here and the far from pleasant night she has had so far.

"If it isn't too forward of me to say...," he murmurs. This time, he is the one shyly taking her in from the corners of his eyes. "I think you're very kind and gentle and wonderful."

"Thank you, Rumple. I don't think that's forward at all. I'm very glad that you said that," she says, blushing a little herself and her joy increasing yet further when hearing his heartfelt compliments. "I feel the same way about you as well.

"Belle, I..."

"What is it?"

"If you don't mind, if you truly don't mind, I would like to ask you if you could..."

He falters, giving her another one of those impossibly endearing and thoroughly appealing looks.

"Yes?" she asks, a little breathlessly.

She may have come here with the intention not to kiss anyone here nor anywhere else for a considerably long time, but Rumple makes her _want_ to, makes her hope that he'll ask whether he can kiss her after all.

"Can you perhaps... hold me?" he asks, his words hesitant as if he's almost entirely convinced that there's no way that she would actually want to do that.

Belle however is thrilled. Although the contact is of a less intimate nature than a part of her is craving with increasing intensity, it's almost as lovely to expand their so very recently started relationship to this level.

"I'd love to do that, yes," she beams at him.

At the same time she sits up on her knees because, no matter how lovely it is to sit next to him as both of them lean back against the wall, that position isn't exactly ideal for sharing an embrace.

"Come here, you wonderful man," she murmurs affectionately, settling herself on her knees opposite him and beckoning him to lean towards her.

When he is close enough for her to do so, Belle spreads her arms and reaches for him, delighted when he moves yet closer towards her. He makes no move to hug her in return, but when she wraps her arms around him and guides his head to the crook of her neck and shoulder, she has the feeling that for the rest of her life she doesn't want to be anywhere but in his arms.

That startling realization is forgotten however, at least momentarily, when Rumple sits tensely against her. She doesn't know whether his taut muscles are caused by the reminder of the woman who terrified him or that he isn't entirely comfortable yet to be embraced by anyone in the first place, but she's determined to make him feel as relaxed as she is himself.

"Hold me as well?" she mutters in encouragement, glad when he ever so tentatively puts his arms around her and locks his hands behind her back. "This feels nice, doesn't it?"

"It does," he says, sounding more disbelieving than anything else. "It feels very nice."

Not even wanting to try to resist the temptation, Belle questioningly twines her hand in his hair. When he makes a sound of encouragement as well, she begins to caress it, marveling at the softness of the strands and the delightful sounds she evokes from him.

Before long, she is touching him in earnest, all but massaging his scalp while he carefully strokes his palms along her back. She doesn't know how he does it, but his touches make her feel incredibly safe and thoroughly excited at the same time... the latter taking over the former when he groans lowly, which has her insides fluttering.

It leads her to the startling realization that she'd like to do a lot more than touching him like this, that she in fact has come to crave the kiss she didn't even want to think about only a few minutes ago... the very kind of contact that he explicitly told her not to want as well.

"We should probably stop doing this," she says, reluctantly breaking away from him.

She misses the contact immediately, wishing that she could remain holding him for a considerably longer time, but she knows only too well that she can't. It would be unfair, towards him at least.

"Why?" he asks, his disappointment almost tangible.

"Because I... I want us to do more than hold each other like this."

His eyes widen in shock at that revelation and she inwardly sighs in defeat, both because she has accidentally made him uncomfortable after all and because she has ruined whatever loveliness there was between them when their relationship was only about seeking comfort together.

"So do I," he says, his voice more firm than it has ever been in her presence.

"What?!" she asks, not understanding what he's saying and why he moves towards her rather than away from her, his gaze flickering towards her lips.

"I want to do more than hold each other like this, too," he breathes, looking at her expectantly and, at the same time, ever so disbelievingly.

"You want to kiss me?"she whispers, needing to be absolutely certain... and wanting to hear him say it out loud for a reason that has very little to do with not crossing any boundaries that should remain uncrossed after all.

"I want to kiss you, yes," he confirms, all timid longing.

"I want to kiss you, too."

If he was any other man, she would have slanted her lips over his already. But no matter how determined he may seem, after what just happened to him she wants to be entirely certain that he is the one to make the first move.

"May I... may I kiss you, Belle?" he asks with a lovely tremor in his voice.

"Yes, you may, please," she whispers, despite her own eagerness remaining right where she is, with a limited but very much existing distance between their bodies and their faces in particular.

"I must tell you that I'm very bad at this... I... I don't really know how to do this and..."

"Just kiss me," she breathes, the longing to feel his lips against hers almost unbearable.

And then, finally, Rumple does just that. She sighs happily when he tentatively presses his lips against hers, the pressure as light as it can be without actually not kissing her at all. Even if the events of earlier that night would still be on her mind, the kiss would have been perfect.

His breath is ragged and as she breathes in the hot air between them, she presses her mouth a bit more firmly against his, hoping to encourage him. He takes the none too subtle hint just like she hoped he would.

Belle moans in a way she never has – in a way she didn't know she ever would - when he opens his mouth a little and allows her to slide her tongue between his lips. He tastes of tea and mint and she hopes that she'll be able to sample much, much more of that particular flavor for many more times to come.

"Can I... can I come closer?" he asks, looking at her with wonderfully wild eyes as he breaks their kiss long enough to breathe in some much needed oxygen.

"Yes, please..." she breathes before slanting her lips over his once more, happily losing herself in the kiss, in the incredible way that this stranger makes her feel.

With their no longer chaste kiss further increasing in intensity, it takes them a while to actually get around moving like both of them want to. Eventually, she is the one to change their position when she vaguely realizes that she's the more mobile one between the two of them.

Never breaking the kiss, she sits up on her knees and scoots yet closer to him, instinctively throwing one leg over his to straddle his thighs and press her chest against his. The man who calls himself Rumple practically whimpers at the increased contact, but any doubt that this increased nearness isn't wanted by him is gone when he pulls her slightly more firmly into him.

Only after a while Belle becomes aware that she's rhythmically rocking her hips into his, sending a delicious sensation all throughout her each time she does. Given the way he grunts into her mouth and tightens his hold on her, he's experiencing similar delight.

Through her haze of pleasure, Belle is somewhat aware that she's practically making love to a man she has never met before. It feels _incredible_ and she never wants it to end – not now or anywhere in the coming decades, really.

In fact, now that she is overtaken by the ever growing urge to see and feel as much of him as possible, she wouldn't object in the slightest to take their contact yet further… that she actually hopes that he feels the same way and that he will be as eager as she has become to make love to one another – right here, right now.

As it is, she can feel beyond a doubt that at least his body wants her as much as she wants him, his arousal pressing increasingly firmly against the part of her that's getting particularly eager for him.

They break their kisses when sheer lack of oxygen forces them apart and coordination becomes quite a challenge as well. Rather than mourning the loss of contact, she takes the opportunity to latch on to his neck instead, moaning in yet more delight when he does the same with her only a few seconds later.

Belle is lost in their nearness to the extent that she initially doesn't hear the shrill sound that disturbs the previous peacefulness, but eventually there's no more ignoring the insistent sound of the buzzer as it announces the ending of this round of dates.

Realizing that the officially scheduled time for their meeting is over, Belle looks at him rather sheepishly. She's shaken to her core in a wonderful if dizzying, almost disorienting way.

Rumple appears to be in a similar state, his hair disheveled and his entire face flushed, his eyes appearing to be somewhat glassy when he returns her gaze. They may not be kissing any longer, but she's very much aware that their bodies are still as close to one another as they were before, his arousal still very much noticeable.

"We... I should probably go," he says hoarsely, looking at her apologetically.

"You're right," she agrees, although there are few things she'd rather do then stay with him exactly like they were for a considerably longer time.

Having all but forgotten about the dating event that brought them together in the first place, barely able to think straight at all for the time being, Belle can only stare at him when she gets back on her feet and helps him to do the same thing... and when he rushes out of the room faster than she thought any man with a cane possibly could, not looking back at her.

~

"Oh, _there_ you are!"

"Hi, Ruby," Belle greets her friend, mentally still being with Rumple, lost in one another, in the room which both of them just left.

"You've been gone for _ages;_ I was looking for you _everywhere_!"

"Was I?" she asks, having no idea how much time she actually spent with him... and not truly caring how long it has been exactly, only interested in how _good_ each and every single second with him was... and that she might get to spend yet more time with him like that.

"Oh my _God_."

"What is it?!" Belle asks in confusion.

Now that Rumple and she have kissed, now that he's _gone_ , it's still difficult enough to think, the heat he caused within her as pointedly present as her memories of their time together. But it's particularly difficult to understand what Ruby is talking about now that her friend for some reason looks at her in surprise and triumph alike.

"You made out with him!"

"What?" Belle asks, not seeing how her friend can know that – or at least, not so soon.

"Your guy, your second guy, the one you said you weren't going to kiss. Well, you _did_ kiss him, and something tells me you liked it _a lot_."

"How do you... how do you even know that?" Belle sighs, deciding that it will be less troublesome to answer her friend's probably soon invasive questions than to pretend that she remained determined not to be kissed by anyone else at the no longer quite so inane dating event.

"It's written all over your face," Ruby says, grinning wolfishly. "Besides, you've got a hickey on your neck."

"I do?!" she exclaims, smiling widely in delight herself before composing her face to a more neutral expression in a probably vain attempt not to encourage her friend's curiosity any further.

"So, what's he like?!"

"He's wonderful," she sighs happily, feeling all warm and flustered at the mere thought of him. "He's the kindest man I've ever met. He's very gentle... and very handsome, too."

"Anything else? Come on Belle, you have to give me more than that! I'm your best friend, remember! Spill some details!"

"He's... older," she muses dreamily.

"How much older?" Ruby asks eagerly.

"Late forties or early fifties, I think."

"So you're going for experience, eh?" her friend says, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"No! I mean, it's not like that. We just talked at first and I almost immediately liked him. And after we talked... he implied that he is hardly experienced at all. I suppose that neither of us really knew what we were doing, but when we kissed and touched... I liked that best of all."

"Wow, you've got it _bad_ ," Ruby says, winking playfully at her. "I can't wait to meet him and find out what kind of guy is making you swoon."

"What about _your_ date?"

Belle is eager to change the topic, not wanting to acknowledge just yet that she might as well never see Rumple again.

Now that her head is clearing a little, she has to acknowledge that he all but fled when their moment of bliss was cruelly interrupted by the buzzer – and with good reason. He was at least as bothered by his previous date as she was by hers... and look how they had ended up. She doesn't even remember exactly what they have done in the heat of the moment, let alone how it impacted him.

"What happens now?" Belle asks, her friend's vivid description of her third date falling on deaf ears. "How are we matched up to our dates at the end of the event?"

"There'll be one last round of dates after this," Ruby informs her.

"I'm sitting the last round out," Belle mutters, more to herself than her friend.

"I'm not surprised," Ruby says knowingly, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, after the last round – which I _will_ participate in, thank you very much – you get a form on which you write down all the names of the guys you want to get in touch with."

"I don't even know his last name!" she murmurs, looking at her friend in shock.

"That's a good sign, isn't it, that you were too busy making out to talk?"

"Well, I... I suppose his first name is quite unusual, but..."

Belle sighs, realizing that not knowing his full name is probably the least of her worries. After all, she hasn't seen him since he hastily walked away from her, not even when she roamed the halls of the venue afterwards in the hope of at least spotting him from the distance before Ruby ran in to her.

Rumple might as well have left already. It would be his good right, of course, but it would also mean that she won't have the change of ever seeing him again, that she won't even be able to apologize for possibly taking advantage of him and all but scaring him off in her overenthusiastic state... to find out whether her lust has accidentally horrified him like the other woman's.

"The guys you met will fill in the form as well. The organizers compare all lists and if you've both written each other's name down, you'll be given each other's personal information so you can arrange to meet for a follow-up date yourself. If I remember correctly, all guys will each be brought to a separate room and those room numbers will be written on the form as well if there is a match between two people."

Deciding that this sounds rather civilized in comparison to what she's experienced of the set-up of the dating event so far – and that it gives her at least a small change of meeting Rumple again – she is only distantly aware that the buzzer sounds again.

"The next round is about to start!" Ruby exclaims excitedly. "I'll see you later – unless you're going to spend the night with your Prince Charming, I suppose."

"I'm not counting on it," Belle mutters, taken aback by the bitterness of her own tone.

Ruby doesn't seem to have noticed though, already on her way to her next man. The foyer and hallways emptying now that the new round has started, Belle takes the opportunity to make her way through the general parts of the venue once more just in case Rumple is looking for her as well.

"Archie, Victor and Peter all want a follow-up date with me," Ruby reads, going through her list. " _Nice_."

"That's wonderful news," Belle says dully.

Although she _is_ happy for her friend, she can't help but feel that it's rather unfair that Ruby gets the personal information of three men – none of whom she has fallen in love with at first sight – whereas she herself probably will never see the man again who made her feel things she didn't know herself capable of.

After all, she has checked everywhere – twice - but she hasn't seen even a glimpse of Rumple. She tells herself that she will at least have the small comfort of the knowledge that she has done everything she can to try to be reunited with him.

That's the only reason that Belle even bothers to pick up the list that's handed to her shortly after Ruby has received hers. She's convinced that the paper which contains a list of contact details in her friend's case will be entirely empty for her to the extent that it takes her a long moment to realize that there's actually a very familiar name written on top of it... combined with a local phone number and a number which she recognizes as referring to a room in this very building.

Practically squealing in excitement and relief, she's only half aware of Ruby telling her that she's going to meet again with her dates in the areas designated on her form. Before her friend has finished talking, Belle is on her way to the room where, according to the form, Rumple is waiting for her.

Her chest heaving and her heart beating like she has run a marathon, her insides are doing funnier things yet when she sets her eyes on Rumple once more after all... and on the tall, red-headed woman who is quite literally backing him into a corner, blatantly ignoring the man's pleading words and outstretched arms as he tries to keep her away from him.

" _Excuse me_ ," Belle impulsively exclaims, rushing into the room to place herself between Rumple and the woman who is doubtlessly the one who harassed him before. "This man isn't interested in you. He is with _me_."

The other woman scuffs, quite literally looking down on her. Not wanting to give her any chance to speak, not even wanting to see her for one more moment, Belle turns to face Rumple, looking at him questioningly.

Ignoring the haughty voice of the other woman, she finds him looking at her with desperate, pleading eyes. She likes to think that there's happiness of their reunion among the fear which is consuming him. Either way, when he glances at her lips for the briefest of moments she knows exactly what to do, how to stake her claim and hopefully persuade the other woman to leave him alone.

Still, she's very much aware of the circumstances, so Belle doesn't close the distance between them immediately. Only when he nods in confirmation and mutters his consent gratefully, she presses her mouth to his.

As soon as their mouths meet once more, she forgets about the woman ranting right next to them, about the event that all three of them are participating in. Especially when Rumple sighs against her lips in obvious delight, all she can think of is how utterly wonderful it feels to be with him like this, how delightful _he_ feels, especially when their tongues tentatively meet once more.

It's as if there never came an end to their previous kisses, as if they have been kissing all along and nothing separated them after their first meeting. They simply lose themselves in one another once more, especially so when the sound of a slammed door vaguely tells her that they have succeeded in freeing themselves from the other woman.

That doesn't cause Rumple to stop, though, and she's grateful for it. Her knees are buckling and his are as well given the way they stumble through the room, but that doesn't matter either when they reach a wall by sheer luck and the two of them lean against it for support.

Belle groans happily when he presses her gently against the wall with growing but never overpowering confidence, his kiss becoming more certain as well. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling herself as tightly against him as she can, moaning happily when she feels his arousal again.

He breaks the kiss after a while, burying his head in the crook of her neck and shoulder while he catches his breath, all the while holding on to her as if she is his knight in shining armor. She takes a moment to look around and conclude that they're indeed all alone once more before she rests her face against his head, gratefully breathing in his scent.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he mutters, gesturing at the general direction of the door through which the other woman left.

"I'm sorry you had to _go through that_ , again," Belle says softly, caressing his back.

"It's all right now that you are here," he says lovingly, to her relief sounding calm and relaxed once more. "Thanks so much for saving me from her."

"I'm just glad that I got here before she could grab you again."

"Me too," he agrees. "I'm also very glad that you decided to meet with me here, that you wanted to see me again at all."

"Was there any doubt in your mind that I wouldn't show up?" she asks softly, wondering how he could possibly question her fondness for him.

"I told myself that I couldn't have imagined that you like me as much as I like you... or at least, not entirely. But I wasn't certain that you'd actually like to see me again."

"Well, I very much am," she replies, pressing her head against his chest for good measure. "And I'm very glad that _you_ want to see me again."

"Of course!" he cries out, as if there could be no doubt whatsoever about that.

"I was afraid I might have taken advantage of you, since I..."

"No, Belle, no," he interrupts her gently. "I very much enjoyed everything you did. _Very_ much. Like you could probably tell... and still can."

He lets go of her, placing his hands on her shoulders to create some space between them, effectively preventing her from feeling his arousal any longer.

"Looks like I need to find a bathroom again," he says sheepishly, briefly glancing down at the clearly tented front of his trousers.

"You were in the bathroom?" she asks, the discovery why she couldn't find him all this time overshadowed by the implication why he went there in the first place. "Did you... touch yourself?!"

She can't help but ask the question as soon as it enters her mind, heat spreading throughout her at the thought... especially when her ever so helpful mind conjures up the image of Rumple relieving the arousal she caused while thinking of her.

"No!" he exclaims, his cheeks flaming as he follows her gaze as she can't help but lower it, her own face coloring when she takes in the clearly visible presence at the front of his trousers. "I was... I was just waiting for it to go away. And to... well, to avoid that horrible woman. Unfortunately, she saw me when I eventually left the bathroom to fill in my form. She must have followed me back here."

"Oh," is all she can say in response, the other woman all but forgotten when she can't bring herself to look away from the evidence of his interest in her.

"It did go away, eventually," he adds, his face getting yet redder when he follows her gaze, "until... well, until we kissed again."

"Let's just hope we'll be all alone and comfortable the next time it happens," she whispers with an eagerness and boldness she didn't know she had in her, "and we can do something about it together."

When Rumple nods breathlessly and eagerly stares at her, she purposefully closes the distance between their bodies again. She watches in absolute delight how his eyelids flutter closed and his face contorts with pleasure, groaning lowly and driving his hips lightly into hers.

"I can't wait to do that with you," she adds, "but it's probably for the best not to do anything like that _here_."

"Probably not, no," he smiles, quivering deliciously in a way that tells her that he likes the prospect of exploring one another yet more intimately as much as she does herself. "Besides, it's getting late and you probably have to go home."

"I don't _have_ to go home," she replies meaningfully. "Or at least, not to my own."

She mentally reminds herself that she'll have to text Ruby of her change of plans if she indeed can spend the night with Rumple, or in his home at the very least. She may have been utterly convinced that she wouldn't end up in someone's bed when she came here tonight, but now there's nothing she'd rather do than spend the night with him in such a fashion.

"I live nearby. My house isn't much, but I've got a spare mattress," he offers hopefully. "You can sleep in Neal's room, if you like. He's with the neighbors tonight."

"If it's all the same to you, I'd much rather sleep in your room... in your bed as well, preferably."

"I'd like that yet more," he replies shyly.

"Lead the way then. Let's go home."

"Let's go home, yes," he smiles, offering her his arm.


End file.
